When Apple launched the 12 inch MacBook in 2015, this model undoubtedly shocked the entire market in various senses. On the one hand, the all-new metal body and ultra small size design made the MacBook "anti super" the MacBook Air, becoming the lightest, thinnest, and also the lowest priced MacBook model under the brand at that time.

On the other hand, in order to achieve a lightweight design that is only 1.31cm thick and 920g heavy, Apple has greatly reduced the interface specifications of the MacBook. In fact, in addition to the 3.5mm audio interface, there is only one USB type-C interface left on its entire body that combines charging, data transmission, and video output functions.

That's right, the 2015 MacBook was the beginning of Apple's "pure type-c interface" layout on the entire Mac product line. And just a year later, the MacBook Pro, equipped with up to four Thunderbolt 3 interfaces (referred to by Apple as the "Thunderbolt 3"), made a high-profile debut. However, with the vigorous promotion of Thunderbolt 3 and subsequent Thunderbolt 4 by Apple in recent years, more and more displays, Portable storage device, Docking station, card readers and even external video cards using this interface technology have emerged in the market.

Dell's latest XPS13 variant has a Type-C interface on both sides of the body. At the same time, perhaps inspired by Apple's influence and the market performance of MacBook models, more and more Windows laptops are now using all USB Type-C and all Thunderbolt interfaces with ease.

However, at this stage, the recently exposed information about the 2021 MacBook Pro shows that one of its most obvious changes is the return of a series of previously cancelled extension interfaces. That's right, after six years of persistence and even affecting the design trend of the entire PC industry, Apple may put the brakes on the "pure type-c interface" design again.

According to the various design and rendering drawings currently exposed, as well as industry analysts' pre tests, the new MacBook Pro will not only be equipped with up to four Thunderbolt 4 interfaces with a bandwidth of 40Gbps, but also at least four additional expansion interfaces. They are MagSafe power interface with magnetic suction design, a standard size HDMI video output interface, a full-size SDXC card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone interface.

Obviously, this means that for the new MacBook Pro, its charging, display output, and memory card read and write functions will largely no longer rely on the only four Thunderbolt interfaces. But precisely because of this, this may actually be seen as a reflection on Apple's past design and a negation of the "type-c omnipotence".

So the question arises, does this mean that the prospects of USB 4/Thunderbolt 4 as the "universal unified interface" for future digital devices are somewhat bleak, or does it mean that the type-c ecosystem, which is currently in full swing, has been hit by a "backlash" from Apple?

Actually, perhaps that's not what we can say. Firstly, we must see that both USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4 transmission standards using type-c interfaces do have the advantages of large bandwidth, versatility, and small size that any previous interface did not have. In terms of speed, they can all achieve a bandwidth of up to 40Gbps, which means they can theoretically transmit nearly 5GB of data per second; In terms of functionality, both of these latest type-c interfaces combine high-power power supply, high-speed data transmission, and high bandwidth display output capabilities.

The interface design of a typical Thunderbolt 4 Docking station and because of the extremely large bandwidth, any USB 4 or Thunderbolt 4 interface can be "transformed" into several or even dozens of interfaces through the Docking station, while realizing multi-channel video output, connecting multiple USB devices, driving multiple readers and other functions. This is also why Apple and more and more PC manufacturers nowadays favor this interface.

The Thunderbolt Docking station with RTX3090 built-in can bring more powerful 3D rendering capability when it is plugged into a notebook. But at the same time, we must admit that even the latest Thunderbolt 4 has some limitations in actual use. For example, in terms of power supply, it can only support up to 100W of input or output. And as long as you have used the USB type-C interface cable, you will find that its tensile strength is actually relatively average.

For another example, although we mentioned in the previous article that today's Docking station are very powerful, it is also because of this that such Docking station based on modern high bandwidth type-c interfaces are often expensive and not small in size. Therefore, for professionals who often need to connect laptops to the display for demonstration and office work, or often need to use computers to edit pictures/videos, the Docking station is obviously not as convenient as the interface/card reader provided with the computer.

That's right, the above points are precisely why we believe Apple needs to add additional interfaces to the new MacBook Pro. It may not necessarily mean giving up the type-c interface, but for MacBook Pro users, more interface design will make them more convenient to use and improve work efficiency.

Although the HP ZBOOK Fury G7 has two fully functional type-c interfaces, it comes with many other expansion ports. In fact, looking at the current mainstream PC market, it is not difficult to find that most high-end business books, high-performance game books, and laptop workstations are often equipped with Thunderbolt 4 interfaces, as well as independent high-power power interfaces, card readers, display output interfaces (sometimes with several more USB type-a interfaces). The new MacBook Pro, on the other hand, is not so much a "reaction to type-c" as simply catering to users' needs with ease.

Of course, this also means that for lightweight products that do not require strong scalability and do not need to serve professionals, there is actually nothing wrong with the "full type-c" interface design. After all, these types of products do not have a power demand exceeding 100W, nor do they require special attention for professional purposes such as presentations and photo/video editing. For them, the compact and multifunctional type-c interface is still the best choice for balancing lightweight design and strong scalability, and there is no one.

Source: San Yi Life